treasure had been left there; and a detached French force made a dash for the place and easily captured it. The Commandant had only just time to send his treasure to Cocanada and his able-bodied men in retreat towards Vizagapatam before the French arrived. The latter, however, did not attempt to hold the place.
During the few years thereafter in which the district was again in the hands of the Nizam, Rajahmundry was the headquarters of his local representative, Hussain Ali Khán. The latter's position was precario is, and an English force of 200 sepoys and twelve artillery men under Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Henry) Cosby was sent to Rajahmundry to support him. Two rival claimants were at that time competing for the position of Nawáb. A near relative of one of them was commandant of the fort at Rajahmundry, and had 500 Araos, ready for any mischief, under him. He had entered into a conspiracy to take the town and hold it for his relative, but his design was defeated by the vigour and promptitude of Cosby, who, despite the insignificance of his force, took him prisoner. Reinforcements were soon received from Masulipatam, and Cosby maintained his position at Rajahmundry till the country was ceded to the English.
Though Masulipatam then became the centre of the administration, troops appear to have been stationed at Rajahmundry for many years. When, in 1794, the Chief and Council at Masulipatam were replaced by Collectors, one of the latter was stationed at Rajahmundry. When the 'Rajahmundry district' was constituted, the Collector did not live in the town which gave his charge its name, though from the very first this had contained the court of the Zilla Judge appointed in 1802,1[1] and it was not until 1867 that even the Sub-Collector was stationed there. The Sub-Collector, the District and Sessions Judge and the District Superintendent of Police are stationed there now. The place moreover contains the usual taluk offices, a sub-registrar and a district munsif. It is the head-quarters of the American Evangelical Lutheran Mission, which keeps up a high school there, a station of the Roman Catholic Mission, and contains several Christian churches and two European cemeteries. The older of the latter is near the old Civil Court, and the tombs in it go back to 1771. The other contains a large number of graves dating from 1862 down to the present day.
The town also contains two travellers' bungalows, one belonging to the municipal council and the other to the taluk
- ↑ 1 Chapter XIII, p. 189.
